Recent Viewings, Part 2

[zelmo73]

Snatch (2000) -

Two unlicensed boxing promoters get caught up in the aftermath of a successful diamond heist that goes horribly wrong for the guy initially in charge of the robbery. The 84-karat diamond is soon up for grabs after the brother of one of the heist robbers is hired to steal the diamond from the guy in charge of the robbery. The diamond ends up changing hands repeatedly before it ends up inside of a dog, the title character of the movie. The sub-plot involving an underground boxing industry and the criminal kingpin that runs fixed fights and kills anyone that displeases him is a crucial plot point that ends up taking us on a hilarious ride involving shady characters that are constantly bungling things up in their quest to snatch the diamond.

I've seen this movie countless times over the years and finally bought it on 4K blu ray this past weekend. Watching it in HDR 10 and Dolby Atmos surround sound was like watching it again for the first time since I first saw the movie in theaters 21 years ago. The movie always makes me laugh, and I normally put it on when I can't decide what else to watch. Brad Pitt is probably the funniest person in the movie, but everyone else is hilarious, even Jason Statham, the main protagonist, whose acting that I normally find a bit bland but this is probably still the best performance of his career besides the equally funny Crank (2006). 

[Rev. Powell]

KING CAR (2021): Pato's best friend growing up is a talking car, but when he enters college he finds his old pal is an auto-supremacist who craves political power and a cult of followers. This Brazilian import never gains traction; I couldn't buy it either as a legitimate sci-fi/horror tale or as a political allegory. 2/5.

[Trevor]

Snatch (2000) -

Two unlicensed boxing promoters get caught up in the aftermath of a successful diamond heist that goes horribly wrong for the guy initially in charge of the robbery. The 84-karat diamond is soon up for grabs after the brother of one of the heist robbers is hired to steal the diamond from the guy in charge of the robbery. The diamond ends up changing hands repeatedly before it ends up inside of a dog, the title character of the movie. The sub-plot involving an underground boxing industry and the criminal kingpin that runs fixed fights and kills anyone that displeases him is a crucial plot point that ends up taking us on a hilarious ride involving shady characters that are constantly bungling things up in their quest to snatch the diamond.

I've seen this movie countless times over the years and finally bought it on 4K blu ray this past weekend. Watching it in HDR 10 and Dolby Atmos surround sound was like watching it again for the first time since I first saw the movie in theaters 21 years ago. The movie always makes me laugh, and I normally put it on when I can't decide what else to watch. Brad Pitt is probably the funniest person in the movie, but everyone else is hilarious, even Jason Statham, the main protagonist, whose acting that I normally find a bit bland but this is probably still the best performance of his career besides the equally funny Crank (2006). 

That is a very funny film indeed.

[Alex]

Batman Vs Two-Face.

Back in 2016 or 2017, someone managed to reunite some of the surviving cast members from the old 60's TV show (Adam West, Burt Ward, Julie Newmar & Lee Meriwether) to make an animated Batman movie. Then they threw William Shatner into the mix too.

Sure the voice acting isn't the best I've ever heard and you could definitely tell from the voices that these people are no spring chickens anymore, but it was a lot of fun to hear their voices again. Tonally it sits somewhere between other recent Batman cartoons and the tv show, being not quite as dark as the former, but darker than the old show. As a send-off to Adam West (I think this is the last film he did before dying, but I could be wrong there), I think it was a worthy farewell. Lots of villains from the show do appear, although Two-Face (who I don't recall being in the show, but again I could be wrong), is obviously the big one.

[Jim H]

Drug War - Jonnie To's first mainland film is a solid suspense thriller.  It's about a shifty mid level drug boss being forced into an undercover operation.  Twisty and turny, and also pretty interesting as you can feel the writing decisions made to make it work as a mainland film, things done differently.  Not inherently bad things either.  To give one example, we learn literally NOTHING about the background of the lead police officer character except his name, same with the other cops.  To has said this was intentional out of fear of censorship, but it does give a unique feel to how quickly we are dropped into many parts of the film.

The suspense scenes and rapidly moving plot are very entertaining with really good suspense, all the performances are good, very well shot and edited, and there are a couple action set pieces that are good.  Totally worth a watch.  But, there's just not a lot of depth to it, and I really do think the mainland appealing style of it is a net negative on the film as a result.  In particular, the ending doesn't sit right, though the alternative ending To has said he planned didn't sound right either.  So it's glossy, well made, well constructed, but a little hollow.  This is a problem in a lot of To's newish films I think (like Exiled and Vengeance), but the mainland appeal of this exacerbates it a bit.

Another facet to watching it as an American and Western viewer...  I've often had sympathy for characters on the periphery of drug crime in American films, facing harsh prison times for making a profit in ways that are often less harmful than legal substances, but it's hard not to have even more in China when even moderate drug crimes easily result in the death penalty.  This directly plays into the plot of the film too, they do not shy away from it at all.  This changes the police into being effectively people sent to flat out kill you as soon as they show up on your doorstep if you're at all significantly involved - taking a shot at them feels a lot closer to pure self defense in those circumstances.  Some may feel differently of course.

Overall, 7/10.  It's now on Prime for those curious, which is how I watched it.  Actually have it on DVD too, but the Prime stream looked better.

[Rev. Powell]

GIVING BIRTH TO A BUTTERFLY (2021): A suburban mom and her son's pregnant fiancee take a surreal roadtrip to try to fix a financial mistake. This is an intelligent, even poetic movie that may not find much of an audience due to the fact that it's too dry and enigmatic; I think they should have leaned into the comedy a bit more. Saw at Fantasia, not sure when it will be released. 2.5/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Falling Down" (1993)
A down on his luck, laid off Everyman (Michael Douglas) finally snaps while sitting in L.A. rush hour traffic one morning, abandons his car, and heads "home" on foot to reunite with his estranged family. His path takes him through some of LA's worst neighborhoods and brings him into contact with gang bangers, hostile store keepers, and eventually, the police, in this dramatic action flick from Joel Schumacher. Douglas is great as the crazed anti-hero and so is Robert Duvall as a cop on his trail. "Falling Down" was quite controversial in its day, but it has aged well and is still a white knuckle ride today. Well worth revisiting.

[pennywise37]

i've seen that a few times and each time i watch it i want to like it and i still don't care for it

[FatFreddysCat]

i've seen that a few times and each time i watch it i want to like it and i still don't care for it

It's certainly not a "fun" movie by any means, it's very bleak... but it is very well done.

[Rev. Powell]

MONDO HOLLYWOODLAND (2019): A visitor from the 5th dimension attempts to find out the meaning of "mondo" from a shrooms dealer; what follows is a story divided into three sections, each following multiple characters, with the action sometimes interrupted by shroom trips. This satirical psychedelic sketch comedy is amateurish but energetic; fun for a while, but gets old. 2/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Into the Dark: Good Boy" (2020)

A stressed out middle aged single gal (Judy Greer) adopts an emotional support dog to help alleviate her loneliness. She soon learns that in addition to being cute, loyal, and cuddly, her new pooch is also a bloodthirsty killing machine that will eliminate anyone who makes her angry or anxious.

I loved the concept of this Hulu original (part of their "Into The Dark" horror film series). The cast is fine, the dog is cute (even when he's covered in blood) but the final product is uneven. The first hour plays like a Lifetime channel rom-com (with a mean streak) before finally going full "Cujo" in the last 30 minutes. I've seen worse, but I wish they'd picked a consistent tone and stuck with it.

[FatFreddysCat]

"ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band From Texas" (2019)
This has been in my Netflix watch list for a while, but the recent passing of Dusty Hill bumped it to the top of the queue.
Sam Dunn of "Metal Evolution" and "Metal: A Headbanger's Journey" fame directed this cool documentary about the legendary blues-rock trio, who look back in wonder at their 50 year career. I honestly knew next to nothin' about ZZ Top prior to their 1983 mainstream breakthrough with Eliminator, so this was a much needed history lesson. The Top guys seem like pretty cool dudes, and it's fun to sit and watch them reminisce over vintage films and photos from days gone by. They're bad, they're nationwide!

[Jim H]

1941 (1979) - Yeah, I finally saw Spielberg's infamous comedy.  Cripes, what a dud.  Loud, obnoxious, irritating, shallow, poorly written and structured, and mostly not funny.  It also gets so tiring that it just gets boring to watch, I found it hard to even pay attention after the 2/3 mark.  There's a decent sequence here or there (I like the dance/stunt fight), the usual very good John Williams score, you can really see the money on-screen, and a few bits are funny (Robert Stack loving Dumbo was my favorite bit in the film - I bet this is why he was in Airplane! a couple years later), but overall just plain bad start to finish.  3/10.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Porky's" (1981)
Bob "Black Christmas" Clark's raunchy comedy classic about a bunch of sex crazed high school friends in late 50s Florida spawned two sequels and countless imitations. There's not much plot, just lots of silly pranks and quotable bits, most of which involve the demonic gym teacher "Ms. Balbricker." It's been a long time since I've seen this and it's still a ton of dumb fun.

"Porky's II: The Next Day" (1983)
The gang from Angel Beach High are back and in between their continuing efforts to "get some," they do battle with a fire-and-brimstone preacher and the local Klan, who want to shut down the school's Shakespeare festival. Of course, there's lots of half naked girls and other silliness. I think I actually like this one better than the original "Porky's." It's very satisfying to see the clueless Bible belters and dumbass Klansmen get what's comin' to 'em.

[Rev. Powell]

ANNETTE (2021): A musical wherein a stand-up comedian (played by Adam Driver) and an opera singer (played by Marion Cotillard) wed and give birth to a miraculous daughter (played by a creepy puppet). Combine the words and music of offbeat popsters Sparks with the stylistic maneuvers of off-center director Leos Carax and you get an off-center-beat avant-garde musical that's uneven but delightfully unpredictable.  3.5/5.